From palaces to museums, best spots to visit for free in Seoul this Chuseok
Summary
Seoul is offering free admission to major palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and several museums during Chuseok from Thursday through Sunday. Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Deoksu and Changgyeong palaces will be open, but Changdeok Palace’s Secret Garden is excluded. The Seoul Museum of Art and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art will also offer free entry, with some special hours and reservations required at MMCA.
Key Facts
- The Korea Heritage Service will waive admission fees for Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Deoksu and Changgyeong palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and the royal tombs from Thursday to Sunday.
- Changdeok Palace’s Secret Garden is excluded from free admission, and reservations are recommended.
- Gyeongbok Palace will hold the Changing of the Royal Palace Guard Ceremony at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Guard Duty Performance at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the Gyeongbokgung Guard Patrol Ceremony at 3 p.m.
- The Seoul Museum of Art opened in 1988 and its seven venues will stay open free of charge during the holiday, with the Seosomun Main Branch hosting Yoo Youngkuk: A Mountain Within Me.
- The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art opened in 1969 and has four branches in Gwacheon, Cheongju, Seoul and Deoksugung, with free admission still requiring ticket reservations online or on-site.
Seoul's four Joseon palaces, Jongmyo Shrine, Seoul Museum of Art, MMCA offer free admission during Chuseok holiday
Tourists pose at Gyeongbok Palace in Jongno District, Seoul, Sept. 2. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Much of Seoul will empty out from Thursday through Sunday for this year's Chuseok holiday, as many residents head to their hometowns. But for those staying in the capital, several of the city's best-known royal palaces and museums will open for free. Here are some places worth a visit.
Four grand palaces — Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Deoksu and Changgyeong
The Korea Heritage Service will offer free admission to four of the grand palaces of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) — Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Deoksu and Changgyeong — as well as Jongmyo Shrine and the royal tombs, from Thursday to Sunday. Changdeok Palace's "Secret Garden" is excluded from free admission and reservations are recommended.
The Changing of the Royal Palace Guard Ceremony at Gyeongbok Palace will run at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Guard Duty Performance at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the Gyeongbokgung Guard Patrol Ceremony at 3 p.m.
Gyeongbok Palace, built in 1395, was the first royal palace constructed in Seoul during the Joseon Dynasty. As the dynasty's main palace, it housed offices for state affairs and the royal family's living quarters. The palace was burned down during the 1592-98 Japanese invasions and remained in ruins for more than two centuries until it was rebuilt in 1867.
Seokjojeon Hall at Deoksu Palace in Seoul / Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
Changdeok Palace was built in 1405 and is best known for its Secret Garden, where complex gardens including forests and ponds follow the natural outline of the terrain. This naturalistic design earned the palace UNESCO World Heritage status in 1997.
Changgyeong Palace, built in 1483, was stripped of most of its original structures during Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45, when a zoo and botanical garden were built on the grounds. It underwent a full restoration in the 1980s.
Deoksu Palace dates back to 1593 and became the formal seat of the Korean Empire in 1897 under Emperor Gojong. It is unique among Seoul's five palaces for combining traditional Korean architecture with Western-style stone buildings.
Jongmyo Shrine in Jongno District, Seoul / Courtesy of Korea Heritage Service
Jongmyo Shrine
Jongmyo Shrine, built in 1395, is where the Confucian memorial tablets of the kings and quees of the Joseon Dynasty are enshrined. The shrine's austere architecture earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in 1995. Although visiting the site usually requires a reservation, it will be open for free without one during the Chuseok holiday, letting visitors explore at their own pace.
Seoul Museum of Art
The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), a public museum run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, opened in 1988 to coincide with the Seoul Olympics. The Seosomun Main Branch and six other venues showcase Korean and international contemporary art.
All seven venues will stay open from Thursday to Sunday for free, with exhibitions including "Yoo Youngkuk: A Mountain Within Me," a retrospective of the pioneering Korean abstract painter (1916-2002), showing at the Seosomun Main Branch.
Yoo Young-kuk's mountain paintings on display at SeMA / Newsis
During the Chuseok holiday, hours run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., while the Nam-Seoul Museum of Art closes at 6 p.m. On Friday, the Seosomun Main Branch and Buk-Seoul Museum of Art will stay open until 9 p.m.
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) first opened in 1969 and has since grown into a four-branch institution, with locations in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, along with the Deoksugung branch in Seoul's Jung District and the Seoul branch in Jongno District.
The Seoul branch leads with international programs, while Gwacheon offers an outdoor sculpture park and a children's art museum, Deoksugung focuses on modern art and Cheongju focuses on storing and preserving the museum's collections.
A visitor looks around artist Do Ho Suh's solo exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jongno District, Seoul, Aug. 26. Yonhap
The Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju branches will stay open all four days, while the Seoul branch will be closed on Friday. Even with free admission, visitors still need ticket reservations online or on-site.
Guided tours will be suspended from Thursday and resume Sept. 29, though a free English audio guide is available through the Digital Museum section of the MMCA website.
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